Report outlines recommendations for the implementation of Amendment 64.

State task force recommends excise tax, labeling rules

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A task force says its final recommendations for implementing Amendment 64, which legalizes adult marijuana use in Colorado, lays the groundwork for a robust state regulatory framework that will ensure adequate oversight, consumer protection and prevention and treatment programs for young people.

Key recommendations include what the task force is calling “vertical integration,” meaning that cultivation, processing and manufacturing, and retail sales must be under common ownership. Continue reading →

FRISCO — A state task force charged with implementing Colorado’s Amendment 64, which legalizes personal consumption and cultivation of marijuana — will be working under a tight schedule, meeting weekly to develop recommendations that will be delivered to Gov. John Hickenlooper and the State Legislature no later than the end of February.

That will help set the stage for the next technical step in the process of regulating marijuana in a way similar to alcohol, with state agencies required to develop regulations for that process by July 1, according to Sean McAllister, a Breckenridge-based attorney and spokesman for Colorado NORML.

McAllister said the task force, representing an array of stakeholders ranging from local governments and health and safety officials to the state department of agriculture and medical marijuana providers, will meet weekly. Read the executive order establishing the task force here.

Is Colorado headed for a cannabis clash with the feds? Bob Berwyn photo.

Passage of Amendment 64 in Colorado sets up potential showdown

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY —Even in the face of federal uncertainty, local officials say Colorado’s effective — if somewhat cumbersome — regulation of medical marijuana can serve as a guide for controlling the cultivation and retailing of marijuana for personal use, legalized by state voters in last week’s election.

Amendment 64 legalizes the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana as soon as the election results are certified by Gov. John Hickenlooper, at the latest by Dec. 6. Possession and cultivation of up to six plants will also be legal. Continue reading →

FRISCO — Federal reaction to the legalization of marijuana for personal use may be driven as much by political considerations as by legal factors, said attorney Sean McAllister, a long-time advocate on the cannabis front.

Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 by a large marging. The measure legalizes adult possession and cultivation of marijuana and directs the state to establish a system to regulate the commercial sale of marijuana for personal use. The ballot measure got 50,000 more votes than President Barack Obama in his reelection bid, and McAllister reckons that the adminstration may not be keen on alienating progressive voters by cracking down on the state. Continue reading →

FRISCO — In a race that wasn’t nearly as close as Republican pundits wanted it to be, Barack Obama won a second term to the White House by hanging on to Ohio, a white, working-class state that was crucial to Mitt Romney’s hopes for pulling off a GOP upset.

Obama was also leading by a razor-thin margin in Florida when major networks called the presidential election for the Democrat from Illinois.

The Democrats won by maintaining their margin of victory in traditional strongholds in the Northeast, the Midwest and along the West Coast, with a wide swath in the middle of the country remaining red, showing the deep ideological gulf between coastal urban areas and the country’s heartland.

In Colorado, voters approved Amendment 64, which legalizes possession and use of marijuana. Gov. Hickenlooper said the state will respect the will of the voters.

“The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will. This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly,” he said in a press release.

Mitt Romney conceded the election at about 11 p.m.

“This is a time of great challenges for America, I hope the president will be successful in leading our nation,” Romney said, thanking his family and his running mate, Paul Ryan.

“At a time like this we can’t risk bickering and political posturing,” he continued, calling on both parties to work together to tackle critical issues.

David Petraeus, the former CIA director and top Army general whose affair with his biographer brought down what many considered a bright political future, has agreed to plead guilty to mishandling classified materials.